Jabalpur (MP): Four days after two Catholic priests were assaulted allegedly by right-wing activists in Jabalpur of Madhya Pradesh, police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) in the case. However, no arrests have been made so far.

The FIR was registered on Friday, following public outrage and political pressure. On Thursday, opposition MPs led by the Congress staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha after being denied permission to discuss the matter.

“We have registered an FIR in the case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. People (seen in videos of the incident) have been identified. I will have to check the Sections under which the case has been registered,” said city superintendent of police Satish Kumar Sahu. He did not provide further details.

The Opposition, during its protest in the Lok Sabha, alleged the incident was yet another example of attacks on minority communities, and accused the BJP and Sangh Parivar of fostering such hostility.

The alleged incident took place on March 31 on the premises of Ranjhi Police Station, where Father Davis George, vicar general of the Jabalpur Catholic Diocese, and Father George Thomas, secretary of the diocesan corporation, were reportedly attacked. Father George previously served as principal of St Aloysius College in the city.

According to Atul Joseph, district coordinator of the Rashtriya Isai Mahasangh (RIM), around 50 individuals—including women and children—from the tribal-dominated Mandla district had travelled to Jabalpur during the Christian season of Lent to visit local churches. They were allegedly intercepted by right-wing activists and taken to Ranjhi police station on accusations of religious conversion.

“Fathers Davis and Thomas, and Felix Barla, secretary of the St Peters and Paul Cathedral, went to Ranjhi police station to help the detained Catholics. They were pushed and slapped. A video shows a woman slapping a priest. After some time, police released the pilgrims and the priests after dismissing the mob,” Joseph said.

The state of Madhya Pradesh, governed by the BJP, enforces a strict Anti-Conversion Law.

In response to the incident, more than 500 members of the Christian community gathered on Thursday in protest, demanding that appropriate legal action be taken.

PTI